6l2 



NATURE 



We are informed that the lists of papers, &c., appended to 

 Mr. C. R. Warkham's "Fifty Years' Work of the Geographical 

 Society," referred to in our leading article of last week, were not 

 compiled by Mr. Kye. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Macaque Monkey {Macacus cynomolgus 9 ), 

 from India, presented by Mr. G. R. J. Glennie; a Rhe-us 

 Monkey (Macacus erytluaus ? ) from India, presented by Miss 

 Richardson; a Malbrouck Monkey (Cercopithecus cynosurtis i) 

 from West Africa, presented by Mr. J. Pope; a Black-faced 

 Kangaroo (Macropiis melanops i ) from Australia, presented by 

 Miss Drax ; a Black-headed Gull (Lams riJibundus), European, 

 presented by Master Rew Lloyd ; t^^■o Common Kestrels 

 (Tinniinculus alaudariits), British, presented by Masters John 

 and Charles Godfrey ; a Snow Bunting (FUclrophanes nivalis). 



North Eur. pean, presented by Mr. H. A. Macpherson ; a 



Monkey {Macacus, sp. inc. i ) from Hainan Island, China, 

 deposited; a Sooty Mangabey (Ccrcocebus fuliginosus &) from 

 West Africa, an Ariel Toucan [Ramphastos arid} from Brazil, a 

 Naked-footed On let (Athene noctua), European, an Ornamental 

 Hawk Eagle {Spizadus ornaius), a Black Tortoi.'e (Testudo car- 

 bonaria], an Argentine Tortoise ( Testudo argentind) from Suuth 

 America, two Radiated Tortoises (Testudo radiata') from Mada- 

 gascar, purchased ; a Gaimard's Rat Kangaroo (Hypsiprym nus 

 gaimardi), born in the Gardens. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN 

 Comet i8Si / (Denning).— From the elements of the orbit 

 of this comet it is evident that it was a: much- more con- 

 spicuous object about the time of perihelion passage in the 

 middle of September, than when it w!is detected by Mr. penning 

 on the morning of October 4, and its not having been sooner 

 discovered can only be attributed to the general prevalence of 

 clouded skies in September. Mr. Denning writes us that from 

 September 2 to 29 he could not make a single observation before 

 sunrise, owing to cloudy weather, but that on the mornings of 

 September 29 and October! he missed the comet " in some 

 unaccountable manner." The comet having escaped in Sep- 

 tember, the systemaiic examination of the^ sky, which is now 

 purtued by him, is thus explained. 



It ought now to be possible to decide by calculation from 

 accurate po it'ons, whether the comet be one of short period or 

 not. The resemtjiance of the orbit to that of the fourth comet 

 of 1819 has been pointed out. That comet was undoubtedly 

 moving in an elliptical orbit of very limited dimensions : a com- 

 putation founded upon a new reduction of the observations 

 made at the Observatory of Paris, which alone are precise 

 enough for the purpose, has led Mr. Hind to a period of 

 revolution of 5'I55 years, which is somewhat longer than that 

 deduced by Encke in 1S20 from the same observations as they 

 were published at the tune by Bouvard. At the previous 

 aphelion passage in 1S17 the comet would pass inclose proxi- 

 mity to the planet Jupiter, and considerable perturbations may 

 have then occurred. In the interval between the perihelion 

 passage of the comet of 1819 and that of Mr. Denning's comet 

 there are twelve periods of 5'I5I years, and the comet would 

 again be greatly disturbed by Jupiter near aphelion in 1853, fo 

 that it is possible to explain to a great extent the differences 

 between the orbits of 1S19 and iSSi, but ihat the period of revo- 

 lution should rot have undergone material alteration at the same 

 time, may perhaps be considered as an argument against the identity 

 of the comets. However, as we have in'imated, the que^tion 

 sho\ild soon be deeded by direct calculation. Less than a fort- 

 night's observations have been shov\n in more cases than one to 

 be sufficient to give pretty clo^e approximations to the periods 

 of comets moving in small ellipses, as in the ca'e of De Vico's 

 comet of 1S44, for vihich from only eight days' observations M. 

 Faye inferred a revolution of 5'I5 years, the correct one being 

 5 '46 years, or that of Brorsen's comet at its first appearance in 

 1846, when from ten days' observations Mr. Hind assigned a 

 revolution of 5'SI9 year-, the true one being S"S69 years. 



The following positions of Mr. Denning's comet .'re frrm 

 an ephemeris calculated by Dr. Oppenheim for Berlin mid- 

 night :— 



October 28 



30 



November I 



{Oct. 27, 1 88 1 



R.A. Decl. Log. distance from 



h. m. s. o , Sun. Earth. 



10 10 o ... -f 14 516 



10 13 I ... 14 52'2 ... o'o6S5 ... o'04u 



10 15 52 ... 14 53-1 



3 ... 10 18 35 ... 14 54'5 ... o"oSS8 ... 0^0503 



5 ... lo 21 7 ... 14 56-4 



7 .. 10 23 30 ... 14 587 ... o'ioS4 ... 0-0582 



9 ... 10 25 44 ... 15 1-4 



The intensity of light on November 9 is less than half that on 

 the day of discovery. 



Herschel's "Garnet Sidus."— This variable star, the ^i. 

 Cephei of cur Catalogues, appears to require more regular obser- 

 vation than, to judge from puMi-hed statement^, it has of late 

 received, and is an object well deserving the attention of 

 some one of our many amateurs. No doubt satisfactory 

 observations are attended with some difficulty from the high 

 colour of the star, but on that account the re; ults of a single 

 observer may perhaps be deemed more reliable. Mr. Webb, in 

 the new edition of his "Celestial Oljects for Common Tele- 

 scopes," assigns it a period of five or six years, which is as.-ur- 

 edly a mistake. It has been included amcngst the irregular 

 variables, and its period may be usually about 430 days, instead 

 of several years. Argelander, as an approximati. 'U totbe period, 

 gives 43 1 '8 days, from observations between 1848 and 1863, but 

 there are very material perturbations. He considered that the 

 period of increase of brightness is greater than that of decrease 

 in the proportion of 4 to 3. The poition of /i Cephei for 1882 

 is in R.A. 2ih. 39m. 537s., Decl. -\- 58° 14' 21". 



This star, which was not observed by Flamsteed, is the 

 first of Ptolemy's duoptpaiToi, under the constellation Cepheus, 

 which he places in 13" 40' of Pisces with 64° north latitude. 

 If Me carry back the position of the variable star from the 

 second Radcliffe catalogue to the reputed epoch of Ptolemy's 

 catalogue— the fir.st jear of Antoninu.^, or a.d. 138— we find 

 its longitude to be in 14° 16' of Pisces, with north latitude 

 64° 7', so that, as was first shown by Argelander (Astron, Nach. 

 ErgatnuHgshcft), the identity is beyond duubt. 



GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES 

 The St. Petersburg Correspondent of the Times writes as 

 follows :; — The question of the existence of volcanoes in Central 

 Asia, especially on the Kuldja frontier, has aluays been a matter 

 of doubt and discussion among geologists and Russian explorers. 

 The Governor of Semiretcbinsk, Gen. Kolpakofsky, had already 

 fitted out expediiioi.s to settle the question— once in 1878, 

 and again in 1879 ; but owing to the difficulties of reaching the 

 mountains, which the Chinese con>ider impassable, and also to 

 the disorders which were then taking place in Kashgar, both 

 expeditions were unsuccessful. This year General Kolpakofsky 

 again set himself to the task, and now reports that he has at last 

 discovered the perpetual fires in the Thian Shan range of moun- 

 tains. He telegrai hs that the mou ta:n Bai Shan has been 

 found twelve miles north east of the City of Kulfija, in a basin 

 surrounded liy the massive Ailak Mountains, and that the fires 

 which have been liurniiig there from time immemoiial 'are not 

 volcanic, but proceed from burning coal. On the sides of the 

 mountain there are caves emitting smoke and sulphurous gas. 

 The Official Messenger, referring to this interesting telegram, 

 observes that the question as to the existence of volcsmic forma- 

 tions in Central Asia, which has so long agitated the learned 

 world, is now irrevocably decided in the negative, and bears the 

 testimony of many Russian explorers. Mr. Sthuyler also, in his 

 "Turkistan," mentions that these perpetual fires in the moun- 

 tains referred to by Chinese historians were considered by 

 SevertzofT, who explored the region, as being caused by the 

 ignition of the seams of coal or the carburetted hydrogen gas in 

 the seams. The same author further mentions that Capt. 

 Tosnofskey, another Russian explorer, wa^ told of a place in the 

 neighbourhood fi-om which steam constantly rose, and that near 

 this crevice there had existed from ancient times three pits, 

 where person- aftlicted with rheumatism or skin diseases were 

 in the habit of bathing. 



Mr. Dorward, of the China Inland Mission, has lately made 

 a lengthened journey in the Chinese province of Hunan, of which 

 he has sent home somewhat full particulars. He was absent 

 from Wuchang, opposite Hankow, on the Yang-tsze-kiang, for 

 five and a half months, and visited almost every part of this 



